Applesauce Cake

A few years ago, I baked this cake for the first time — content to use up the jar of applesauce in my refrigerator. I was not expecting to be blown away by what exited the oven 40 minutes later. This cake is an absolute hit! It’s packed with Autumn flavors from apple to warming spices and even the cream cheese frosting gets a Fall makeover with a bit of cinnamon. You could make the cake and ditch the frosting for a “breakfast cake”. But honestly, who ditches cream cheese frosting? And if you’re eating cake for breakfast anyways, I recommend that it stays. 😉

So all those years ago, when I first made this, I walked into work the next morning and Tia, my colleague and biggest A Bee Bakes fan, said, “where’s my dessert today?!” Turns out the cake didn’t even make it out the front door. And it likely won’t make it out of yours either. And Tia ended up helping me as a taste-tester for weeks while I perfected these Persimmon Pudding Bars. So we all got what we wanted in the end.

So whether you buy or make your applesauce (or if are trying to use up the little containers that were meant to be for your kid’s lunches), you’ll be so glad to use it for this cake. You can even bake them into cupcakes (just keep an eye on them and bake between 18-22 minutes). All you need is a whisk to make the batter so you don’t even have to lug out your kitchen aid.

Happy Fall baking!